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Standing in Line for the iPhone 4
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I reserved just under the wire on launch day and picked it up at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC this morning. This mall won't allow anyone to get in any line on their property until they open at 5:30am. I arrived at 6:00am and there were two lines... both of which overflowed their very long roped off queues. I got in line in the food court which is down a hallway from the store. At 7:00am, I counted and there were about 200 people behind me in line, and there were more ahead than behind (reserved line... the other line was longer). I would estimate that were over 1,000 people in line between the two lines... easily. I made it into the store at 10:30am... so just about 4.5 hours for the reserved line... getting there at 6:00am. I would guess the line maxed out at around 8:00 and there had to be 300+ people behind me, and so it will have to take them 6+ hours. I was told they were taking 1 from the non-reserve line for every 10 they took from the reserve line. It was close to that because that line was not moving at all. I heard the Apple rep tell someone that if there were still people in line at midnight when they closed, that they would receive some kind of ticket so that they didn't lose their reservation. They provided donuts once... then bottled water once. When I was leaving, they had a cart of snacks (potato chips, cheetos, etc.) going down the line. It wasn't all that bad of an experience, and I was able to get the phone. Sounds like this was one of the worst lines from reading some of the other location reports.
Waited in line for 4 hours and the Apple folks were letting people WITHOUT reservations in every once in awhile. That is totally unfair to those of us that stuck it out on the phone lines and got reservations!!!
I felt the same why .. i might just say hell with the iphone 4 and just go get a 3gs from at&t store...
Business customers turned away
Can't upgrade to iPhone 4 @ Apple store. Another #ATTFAIL. Email sent to the AT&T reps I know posted below:
"I just spent 6 hours at the Apple store to find out that we now can't upgrade our phones there. I spoke with Candice yesterday and all four of our phones are eligible for upgrades. We are getting a bill that says JAM Web Designs, Inc. on it, but we are under a family plan on our account. Last time, when we upgraded from iPhone Edge to iPhone 3G we did it in the Apple store with no issues (except for the activation process of course - that was a nice 2 hours issue due to AT&T).
Can you tell me how we are supposed to get these phones now? Are we expected to wait until the end of July?
Thank you for your time and a precise explanation."
Can't upgrade to iPhone 4 @ Apple store. Another #ATTFAIL. Email sent to the AT&T reps I know posted below:
"I just spent 6 hours at the Apple store to find out that we now can't upgrade our phones there. I spoke with Candice yesterday and all four of our phones are eligible for upgrades. We are getting a bill that says JAM Web Designs, Inc. on it, but we are under a family plan on our account. Last time, when we upgraded from iPhone Edge to iPhone 3G we did it in the Apple store with no issues (except for the activation process of course - that was a nice 2 hours issue due to AT&T).
Can you tell me how we are supposed to get these phones now? Are we expected to wait until the end of July?
Thank you for your time and a precise explanation."
Sheeple...
I love my Macs, and adore the products and leadership overall, but I always chuckle when I see this circus.
I know, I know... in the end, it is a personal choice... a personal experience (if you will). But still... it's kinda funny that folks would go to such lengths to get something that will continue to flow into the marketplace as a relatively short time goes by.
I love my Macs, and adore the products and leadership overall, but I always chuckle when I see this circus.
I know, I know... in the end, it is a personal choice... a personal experience (if you will). But still... it's kinda funny that folks would go to such lengths to get something that will continue to flow into the marketplace as a relatively short time goes by.
That'll show 'em!
Why not just........wait?
In 2 weeks you'll be able to walk in and have your pick of the litter?
For crying out loud, it's a phone, not food, water or air.
I'm astonished at how easily people are whipped into a frenzy just because there are other crazy people waiting in line for a moderately improved version of what we've been using forth last 3 years?
You should be happy you couldn't get one considering the issues that have popped up with hours of release?
Cherry Hill New Jersey
Got my Iphone today...had mine shipped and picked up my wife's phone...overall...not to bad...the line at 6:00am was about 400+ people...they divided the lines into Reserved and Purchase....moved fairly quickly....the ratio of Reserved to Purchased people serviced was 8:1...thought staff did a good job of explaining what was going on...they had over 1500 reserved units at this Apple store....I had no issue with people who walked up to purchase getting served...some had waited since 10:00PM last night....they kept the ratio pretty high towards reserved folks....thought the Apple Store staff did a great job...only issue was with people who occupied sales folks for 20mins or more asking questions....slowed down the process...
Got my Iphone today...had mine shipped and picked up my wife's phone...overall...not to bad...the line at 6:00am was about 400+ people...they divided the lines into Reserved and Purchase....moved fairly quickly....the ratio of Reserved to Purchased people serviced was 8:1...thought staff did a good job of explaining what was going on...they had over 1500 reserved units at this Apple store....I had no issue with people who walked up to purchase getting served...some had waited since 10:00PM last night....they kept the ratio pretty high towards reserved folks....thought the Apple Store staff did a great job...only issue was with people who occupied sales folks for 20mins or more asking questions....slowed down the process...
Cherry Hill New Jersey
Got my Iphone today...had mine shipped and picked up my wife's phone...overall...not to bad...the line at 6:00am was about 400+ people...they divided the lines into Reserved and Purchase....moved fairly quickly....the ratio of Reserved to Purchased people serviced was 8:1...thought staff did a good job of explaining what was going on...they had over 1500 reserved units at this Apple store....I had no issue with people who walked up to purchase getting served...some had waited since 10:00PM last night....they kept the ratio pretty high towards reserved folks....thought the Apple Store staff did a great job...only issue was with people who occupied sales folks for 20mins or more asking questions....slowed down the process...
Got my Iphone today...had mine shipped and picked up my wife's phone...overall...not to bad...the line at 6:00am was about 400+ people...they divided the lines into Reserved and Purchase....moved fairly quickly....the ratio of Reserved to Purchased people serviced was 8:1...thought staff did a good job of explaining what was going on...they had over 1500 reserved units at this Apple store....I had no issue with people who walked up to purchase getting served...some had waited since 10:00PM last night....they kept the ratio pretty high towards reserved folks....thought the Apple Store staff did a great job...only issue was with people who occupied sales folks for 20mins or more asking questions....slowed down the process...
Apple is treating people like animals at the Gardens Mall
Waited since 4am till 12 pm, the first mistake they did is they let people enter the Mall from an entrance that wasnt mentioned,and they let about 50 people ahead of us even before 6am and thats when the all doors should open. so now instead of having 10 people infront of me, i have 60, then come the people who pre-ordered, the store manager had a great idea, to prove to people that apple that apple doesnt give a rats A$$ about people but only about our money, they were letting in 40 people from the pre-ordered line and 1 person from the walk in line.
So, from 7am since the apple store opened till 12;30, they let in 25 people only from the walk in line, so after waiting from 4am till 12;30pm, 8 1/2 hours, im still at # 50, and for my turn to come i have to wait for another 5 to 7 hours because the gardens mall employees were the giving the customers a 1 on 1 training on the Iphone, if you have 700 questions, then its the best time to ask, and they didnt seem to care.
talked to 2 managers and asked them, how long is it taking each customer, they said 20 to 30 min, unbelievable, besides, they had 14 employees, 3 with the register machines and 11 wondering around guarding the gate and ********ting with each other.
screw you apple, we were told today is for walk in, but we werent told we have to wait 40 pre-orders to 1 walk in, we were not told we will be treated like animals. i've been an apple user for many years, had all the iphone released, but honestly, my idea of apple has changed, apple, you SUCK.
Waited since 4am till 12 pm, the first mistake they did is they let people enter the Mall from an entrance that wasnt mentioned,and they let about 50 people ahead of us even before 6am and thats when the all doors should open. so now instead of having 10 people infront of me, i have 60, then come the people who pre-ordered, the store manager had a great idea, to prove to people that apple that apple doesnt give a rats A$$ about people but only about our money, they were letting in 40 people from the pre-ordered line and 1 person from the walk in line.
So, from 7am since the apple store opened till 12;30, they let in 25 people only from the walk in line, so after waiting from 4am till 12;30pm, 8 1/2 hours, im still at # 50, and for my turn to come i have to wait for another 5 to 7 hours because the gardens mall employees were the giving the customers a 1 on 1 training on the Iphone, if you have 700 questions, then its the best time to ask, and they didnt seem to care.
talked to 2 managers and asked them, how long is it taking each customer, they said 20 to 30 min, unbelievable, besides, they had 14 employees, 3 with the register machines and 11 wondering around guarding the gate and ********ting with each other.
screw you apple, we were told today is for walk in, but we werent told we have to wait 40 pre-orders to 1 walk in, we were not told we will be treated like animals. i've been an apple user for many years, had all the iphone released, but honestly, my idea of apple has changed, apple, you SUCK.
just stood in line for 8 hours. Leaving empty handed. They cut the line 7 people in front of me. I tried, like many, to reserve on the 15th with no luck. Hating at&t and apple right now. They have got to get more organized if they are going to continue to market their products in the manner in which they do.
Im not pissed i didnt get a phone. Im pissed they couldn't tell me that I didnt make the cut several hours earlier.
Im not pissed i didnt get a phone. Im pissed they couldn't tell me that I didnt make the cut several hours earlier.
Waited in line for 4 hours and the Apple folks were letting people WITHOUT reservations in every once in awhile. That is totally unfair to those of us that stuck it out on the phone lines and got reservations!!!
That's because they have two piles inside... a reserve pile and a walk in pile.
Had a great experience at the NYC 5th Avenue store. Arrived at 6am for my reservation, about 300-400 people ahead of me. Lines moved very fast; was out of the store by 8:45am.
Throughout the whole time, Apple and other companies provided free coffee, donuts, muffins, cookies, candy, water, etc.
They kept cheering us the whole way. They were very organized and treated everyone very well.
Throughout the whole time, Apple and other companies provided free coffee, donuts, muffins, cookies, candy, water, etc.
They kept cheering us the whole way. They were very organized and treated everyone very well.
Crossgates Mall, Albany NY - I arrived at 5:45 AM , had my iPhone 4 activated, and I was out the door by 7:40 AM.
I love the party, the conversations, the excitement of the customers AND the staff. Everyone was pumped. That's why I go. I had hoped to get my activated before the Central Time zone people started slowing down the bandwidth. I guess it worked.
I was 41st in the reserved line. As I arrived, the staff was directing people to the reserved or non-reserved lines. There were about 500 in the non-reserved line.
They were allowing one person from the non-reserved line into the store for every 50 reserved customers. The non-reserved people were not happy.
The store opened right on time. A staff member took you to the Genius Bar, where your reservation was confirmed and you picked up the iPhone. The staff member took you the wall of accessories to pick out a Bumper (black only, today) or a dock, then to a table and allowed you to open your box. Show your ID, check to see if your AT&T account was current, give your last 4 of Soc Sec #, sign here, sign there. Done.
If the reports of problems are scaring you away from going to pick up your reserved iPhone 4, JUST GET IT. My iPhone is perfect with no screen discoloration. I can make the signal degrade if I hold the phone as they did in the video, HOWEVER, it doesn't seem to happen with the bumper on my iPhone. My reception is clear and I haven't dropped a call yet, and I live in a fringe service area.
I love the party, the conversations, the excitement of the customers AND the staff. Everyone was pumped. That's why I go. I had hoped to get my activated before the Central Time zone people started slowing down the bandwidth. I guess it worked.
I was 41st in the reserved line. As I arrived, the staff was directing people to the reserved or non-reserved lines. There were about 500 in the non-reserved line.
They were allowing one person from the non-reserved line into the store for every 50 reserved customers. The non-reserved people were not happy.
The store opened right on time. A staff member took you to the Genius Bar, where your reservation was confirmed and you picked up the iPhone. The staff member took you the wall of accessories to pick out a Bumper (black only, today) or a dock, then to a table and allowed you to open your box. Show your ID, check to see if your AT&T account was current, give your last 4 of Soc Sec #, sign here, sign there. Done.
If the reports of problems are scaring you away from going to pick up your reserved iPhone 4, JUST GET IT. My iPhone is perfect with no screen discoloration. I can make the signal degrade if I hold the phone as they did in the video, HOWEVER, it doesn't seem to happen with the bumper on my iPhone. My reception is clear and I haven't dropped a call yet, and I live in a fringe service area.
short hills mall in nj was a terrible experience.. i just went ahead and bought a white 3gs.. i wanted white anyway....
Towson Town Center in Md. was not bad at all.
People started lining up around 9 last night, out in the parking garage. There was a great system until around 3 am; 1 person was giving out tickets with your place in line, then when the doors opened you would just know where you were in line and walk in. That only works if everyone agrees to it. Around 3am a group came and said they really don't care and they moved to the front.
Chaos ensued and we more or less stood for 2.5 hours so you would not loose your place.
I had a reservation and met a group of great people and we had a great time.
5:30am we went into the mall, I was num 8 in the reserved line. We got waters and coffee between 5:30 and 7.
At 7, with big fan fair, the cloth that was covering the windows came down and we were let into the store; roughly 50 reservations to 1 or 2 walk ins. It took me about 45 minutes, but I had an issue with my 2 phone, which I really did not care too much about. You can't have more then 5 lines on ATT. Now the good thing was they had 3 ATT people there, that was a great idea.
They only had 5 machines that you could use Itunes with, so that was somewhat of a delay, but all in all it was an excellent experience.
The ip4 kicks butt; fast, great display, very nice!
People started lining up around 9 last night, out in the parking garage. There was a great system until around 3 am; 1 person was giving out tickets with your place in line, then when the doors opened you would just know where you were in line and walk in. That only works if everyone agrees to it. Around 3am a group came and said they really don't care and they moved to the front.
Chaos ensued and we more or less stood for 2.5 hours so you would not loose your place.
I had a reservation and met a group of great people and we had a great time.
5:30am we went into the mall, I was num 8 in the reserved line. We got waters and coffee between 5:30 and 7.
At 7, with big fan fair, the cloth that was covering the windows came down and we were let into the store; roughly 50 reservations to 1 or 2 walk ins. It took me about 45 minutes, but I had an issue with my 2 phone, which I really did not care too much about. You can't have more then 5 lines on ATT. Now the good thing was they had 3 ATT people there, that was a great idea.
They only had 5 machines that you could use Itunes with, so that was somewhat of a delay, but all in all it was an excellent experience.
The ip4 kicks butt; fast, great display, very nice!
For all of those who are upset that they waited xx-hours and walked out empty handed and were not happy that walk-ins came ahead of pre-orders and Apple is mistreating people, blah blah blah, it's your own fault because you had to be the first kid on the block with your new iPhoney toy. Well deal with it, nobody "needed" to have this phone on the 24th. Looking back at history you should've expected this, the iPad made a smash hit and had the same long lines with disappointed customers. Wait it out and get what you want later or deal with it.
For all of those who are upset that they waited xx-hours and walked out empty handed and were not happy that walk-ins came ahead of pre-orders and Apple is mistreating people, blah blah blah, it's your own fault because you had to be the first kid on the block with your new iPhoney toy. Well deal with it, nobody "needed" to have this phone on the 24th. Looking back at history you should've expected this, the iPad made a smash hit and had the same long lines with disappointed customers. Wait it out and get what you want later or deal with it.
I agree. I want a white one and I'm more than willing to simply wait.
Screw all that. I walked straight into Best Buy, told them I had a reservation, and picked the phone up in five minutes.
It's not a 4G phone, just iOS4. Which means it is Operating System 4. Reason it is called iPhone 4 and not iPhone 4G. It's because of the OS.